The year’s first Hindi film introduced two new faces. Karan Vishwanath Kashyap’s Sab Kushal Mangal, released on January 3, pitted Akshaye Khanna against newcomers Priyaank Sharma and Riva Kishan. Sharma is the son of Padmini Kolhapure while Riva is the daughter of Ravi Kishan. In the film, Khanna’s character, Baba Bhandari, is a strongman who arranges forced marriages. He abducts a journalist named Pappu Mishra (Priyaank) and fixes his wedding with Mandira (Riva). It doesn’t go according to plan, and Pappu flees. Meanwhile, Baba Bhandari takes a shine to Mandira, unleashing a web of confusion in the fictional small-town of Karnalganj.
Priyaank grew up in the western suburbs of Mumbai. His mother was a big star through the 70s and 80s, later foraying into Marathi and Malayalam cinema. She was recently seen in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Panipat. Priyaank’s father, Pradeep Sharma, is a producer, and his aunts, Tejaswini Kolhapure and Shivangi Kapoor, both actors. His maternal side is related to Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle.
“Hailing from an artistic family, I had an early inclination towards cinema,” Priyaank says, “After finishing school, I went to Lee Strasberg for a year. I minored in filmmaking and majored in acting. Post that, I returned to India and assisted Rajkumar Santoshi on Phata Poster Nikla Hero (2013).” During this assisting gig, Priyaank figured he wanted to act. He did acting workshops with coaches Nadira Babbar and Neeraj Kabi, and also performed a play by Gulzar at Prithvi Theatre. “I kept auditioning and reading scripts... I was offered an action film and another romantic drama before this. But when Sab Kushal Mangal came around, I knew this was it.”
For the role, Priyaank browsed clippings of regional TV anchors, studied their styles and mannerisms. “My character is a celebrity in a small town, so he lives with a certain attitude. He acts annoyed when people approach him for selfies, but secretly enjoys it.” The character, he says, had the right mix of elements. “I have never been a genre guy. I love roles that blend everything. Action, humour, emotions, heroism... I love the space of films like Sab Kushal Mangal and I will return to it.”
Like Priyaank, Riva grew up close to the film world. She admits that her father, actor-politician Ravi Kishan, inspired her to learn acting professionally. “I grew up watching him work tirelessly across industries. It was my biggest motivation, but it also exposed me to the hard work and pain that goes into it.” Riva’s first acting experience was with Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre troupe. Afterwards, she moved to LA to learn acting and dancing, followed by more workshops in London. “I had come back for the holidays when I was told about the film offer. In a flash, I saw my London dreams shattering (laughs).”
About her character, Riva says, Mandira is a bubbly, fun-loving girl. “She’s a balanced girl with the right mix of innocence and spunk. She prefers to live by her choices, but is well-aware of family values.” Sab Kushal Mangal was shot in Ranchi, Jharkhand, not a usual location for a Bollywood production, but she fell in love with the city. Especially its spicy street food. “Every day, after the shoot, I’d run out to try the chaat. I’d feel guilty later on and immediately hit the gym.”
Khanna, who started his career in 1997 and also hails from a film background, praises his co-stars for their professionalism. “Both Priyaank and Riva were well-prepared and confident about their craft. It wasn’t the case when I started out,” he says, “In those days, you had one new actor being introduced every two years. Last year, I guess there were 20-30 debutants. Not all of them were from film families. With that kind of competition, it’s difficult to put yourself out there, especially when you don’t fit the bill of a conventional, glamorous star.”
Khanna says entering any form of public life in the social media age is courageous. “In today’s environment, when people can discard you in a second, it’s brave to offer yourself up for judgement.”